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Poland marks anniversary of 1918 uprising against Germans

27.12.2019 16:00
A host of central and local government officials attended events on Friday to mark the 101st anniversary of the 1918 Greater Poland Uprising against German rule in the west of the country.
An annual re-enactment held in the western Polish city of Poznań to commemorate a 1918 uprising against the Germans.
An annual re-enactment held in the western Polish city of Poznań to commemorate a 1918 uprising against the Germans.Photo: PAP/Marek Zakrzewski

The ceremonies included a Catholic church service and the laying of wreaths at the Monument of the Greater Poland Insurgents in the city of Poznań.

A multimedia show entitled The Light of Victory: Poznań 2019 was also scheduled to take place at a central square in the western Polish city in the late afternoon.

More anniversary ceremonies were set to be held in the Polish capital Warsaw on Saturday.

The Greater Poland Uprising, in which Poles rose against the German state after the end of World War I, erupted on December 27, 1918.

The revolt started after the region's German authorities opposed a visit to Poznań by Polish pianist and independence activist Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

The insurgents demanded the release of Prussian-occupied Polish land as the country exerted its independence, recovered after 123 years of partitions.

Fighting continued throughout the Greater Poland region until January 1919.

The Greater Poland Uprising was one of just a few Polish insurgencies that ended in victory for the country.

(jh/gs)

Source: PAP